New Zealand

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10 Places Not to Visit in 2010
 10 Places Not to Visit in 2010 
NON-TRAVEL
Jan 12, 2010 12:18 PM CST

10 Places Not to Visit in 2010

Can't afford a vacation? Don't worry about skipping these locales

(Newser) - Sure, you could read one of the many lists of destinations you should visit this year—but in this economic climate, wouldn’t it be more useful to check out a list of places not to visit? Hailey Eber thinks so, and gives her top 10 in BlackBook :
  • Oymyakon, Russia:
...

France No. 1 in Quality of Life

 France No. 1 
 in Quality of Life 

US IS No. 7
Jan 7, 2010 2:00 PM CST

France No. 1 in Quality of Life

It's No. 1 on list, with the US at No. 7

(Newser) - International Living crunches the numbers on everything from cost of living to health care to climate to find the nations with the best quality of life. France tops the list, with the US at No. 7. A sampling:
  • France (No. 1): "Tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes" can't trump
...

Sydney Starts Off 2010 With a Bang

Australian city gets drop on New Zealand with early display

(Newser) - Sydney welcomed 2010 a little early this year, with a 9pm fireworks display over the harbor for the family crowd. That hour in Australia happens to fall at midnight in Auckland, New Zealand, which usually lays claim to the first big celebration of the New Year, but appears to have...

Woman Hit by Car— After Flashing Drivers

Woman fined $200 for drunken escapade that landed her in hospital

(Newser) - An 18-year-old New Zealand woman had to go to the hospital and pay a fine after a drunken dare—flash oncoming traffic—caused one motorist to plow into her. Cherelle Dudfield escaped the accident with minor cuts and bruises, but police were not amused. “This girl put herself at...

Risqu&eacute; Xmas Ad Sparks Anger
 Risqué Xmas Ad Sparks Anger 
Dec 17, 2009 3:50 AM CST

Risqué Xmas Ad Sparks Anger

Catholics offended by Anglican church billboard

(Newser) - A New Zealand Anglican vicar trying to be funny by putting a sheepish Joseph naked in bed with Mary on a billboard has infuriated Catholics. "Poor Joseph, God was a hard act to follow," reads the ad. The idea "was to lampoon and ridicule the idea of...

New Zealander Injects Wife With His Own HIV

Hoped common illness would aid marriage, she'd have sex again

(Newser) - An HIV-positive New Zealander faces 14 years in prison for infecting his wife with the virus in hopes that she would start sleeping with him again. The husband allegedly pricked her with a sewing needle laced with his blood because she—who had tested negative after his diagnosis—stopped having...

Icebergs Drift Toward New Zealand

Over 100 floating chunks headed north from Antarctica

(Newser) - A rare flotilla of icebergs is slowly drifting toward New Zealand from Antarctica. Shippers have been warned that more than 100 giant chunks of ice are in the area. Experts believe most of the icebergs will break up before they hit the coast. Enterprising Kiwis are arranging helicopter tours to...

Giant Iceberg Floats Toward NZ
 Giant Iceberg 
 Floats Toward NZ 
SO LONG, ANTARCTICA
Nov 13, 2009 2:56 AM CST

Giant Iceberg Floats Toward NZ

Chunk of Antarctica spotted unusually far north

(Newser) - A gigantic iceberg drifting unusually far north has been spotted by Australian researchers off an island south of Tasmania. The chunk of ice, 2,300 feet long and 1,000 feet deep, is floating toward New Zealand and could pose a danger to shipping when it splits into smaller chunks....

Shark Babies Born in Bite
 Shark Babies Born in Bite 
Nov 11, 2009 3:30 AM CST

Shark Babies Born in Bite

Aquarium stunned by surprise birth

(Newser) - Never mind nurse sharks: A New Zealand aquarium appears to be home to a midwife shark. A shark there bit another in the midsection, effectively giving it a Caesarean section and causing four babies to swim out of the wound as shocked visitors looked on. Staffers found four more babies...

South Pacific Avoids Tsunami After Big Earthquakes

Warning issued after off Vanuatu, canceled after only small wave materializes

(Newser) - Tsunami warnings for a swath of the South Pacific—including American Samoa, Australia and New Zealand—issued after a pair of strong underwater earthquakes have been canceled after only a small wave materialized. Many residents had already moved to higher ground after the 7.8 and 7.1 temblors; American...

Post-Quake Tsunami Kills 34 in Samoa
 Post-Quake Tsunami 
 Kills 34 in Samoa 
UPDATED
Sep 29, 2009 6:34 PM CDT

Post-Quake Tsunami Kills 34 in Samoa

8.3-magnitude temblor rattles American Samoa

(Newser) - An 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck the area around American Samoa today, generating a tsunami that killed as many as 34 in the US territory and adjacent Samoa, an independent state. The waves at Pago Pago were 5.1 feet above normal—smaller than originally feared— but tsunami warnings went up...

New Zealand Bird Gobbled Up Humans

40-pound extinct bird was the 'lion' of the skies

(Newser) - A 40-pound bird with a 10-foot-wide wingspan swooped from the sky at 134 mph to feed on large flightless birds and small humans, according to a Maori legend that scientists have now confirmed is likely true. Researchers re-examining bones of the Haast's eagle found that the bird was a hunter,...

Overfishing Plagues Filet-O-Fish's Main Ingredient

New Zealand's hoki center of overfishing controversy

(Newser) - What exactly is the fish in a Filet-O-Fish sandwich? It’s a bug-eyed creature from New Zealand called the hoki, and it is apparently under pressure from overfishing, the New York Times reports. New Zealand—while not specifically citing that cause—has been cutting the allowable catch as conservation groups...

Pig-Hunting Dog Pack Mauls NZ Jogger

(Newser) - A woman needed nine hours of surgery after being attacked by a pack of eight dogs as she jogged on New Zealand's North Island, the BBC reports. She curled into a fetal position during the 15-minute attack, a move doctors say saved her life. The dogs were eventually beaten off...

NZ Woman Rescued From Too-Friendly Dolphin

(Newser) - Moko, the famously friendly dolphin who hangs around the beach in Mahia, New Zealand, nearly accidentally killed a woman yesterday, the Gisborne Herald reports. The woman had been playing with the dolphin, and it refused to let her return to shore. "When I wanted to go back in, he...

Quake Knocks New Zealand a Foot Closer to Australia

(Newser) - There’s nothing like a 7.8 magnitude earthquake to bring two countries together—literally. The temblor that hit New Zealand last week has shoved its southern island about 12 inches closer to Australia, TVNZ reports. That might not sound like much, but considering that New Zealand typically moves about...

Olympian Opens Brothel to Fund 2012 Bid

(Newser) - A New Zealand athlete has opened a brothel to finance his Olympic aspirations, the BBC reports. Logan Campbell just wants to stop asking his parents for money—his Beijing efforts cost $150,000, and he hopes to start training again in 2011 with $300,000 from the “gentleman’s...

New Zealanders Wild & Wooly About Sheep Racing

(Newser) - A crowd of thousands is expected in a New Zealand town this weekend to watch teams of trained sheep race through the streets, the Telegraph reports. The organizer has been stunned by the nation's massive interest in the new sport of sheep racing and in his flock, the "Racing...

Airline Uses Naked Staff for In-Flight Safety Vid

'Bare Essential of Safety' also a viral video hit

(Newser) - After a marketing campaign featuring staff in body-paint facsimiles of their uniforms, Air New Zealand is applying its revealing approach to the in-flight safety video as well, the New Zealand Herald reports. “The Bare Essentials of Safety” aims to recapture the attention of passengers who often ignore the mandatory...

Five Found Guilty in Maori Exorcism Death

Mentally ill woman was drowned in attempt to purge her of evil spirits

(Newser) - Five people who drowned their niece in an attempt to rid her of evil spirits have been found guilty of manslaughter by a New Zealand court, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The 22-year-old woman, who prosecutors said was mentally ill, died after the group poured water over her face for...

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